Chapter 32: Enemies Meet Face-to-Face

  Just as Liu Xiu was cursing Yan Ruo to fall off his horse, Liu Bei and Mao Zong were also shouting loudly: "Down! Down! Down!" Even Mao Jiang and A Chu, who were standing behind the curtain, were secretly praying, and even Mao Qin couldn't help but lose control of himself, with a flush rising to his face.

  Unfortunately, things didn't go as planned. Yan Rou was shaken but managed to control the horse with his superior riding skills and returned to the starting point. Gong Sun Zan couldn't help but look back at Yan Rou's situation, and when he saw Yan Rou almost falling off several times but still managing to sit back on the horse, he couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief.

  Having made the most sufficient preparations, Yan Rou was forced into the most unfavorable situation, but unexpectedly still couldn't get what he wanted, and once again let him hold on, it's really a bit disheartening. Gong Sun Zan held the reins in one hand and lowered his head, gently shaking it.

  Liu Xiu watched the scene just now clearly, although he felt a little sorry, but didn't worry at all. He thought that Gong Sun Zan hadn't won this time, but still had an upper hand, even though it wasn't much of an advantage. At least it showed that Gong Sun Zan was not inferior to Yan Rou in martial arts. He had the strength to fight a fair and square battle with Yan Rou. Even if Yan Rou could win in the end, he would have to pay a great deal of effort. By then, Yan Rou's legs would probably be exhausted, which would be perfect for him to take advantage of.

  But when he saw Gongsun Zan lower his head, he felt a strange tension. At this time, the outcome was undecided, where did you regret? He instinctively looked towards Yan Ruo and blurted out: "Be careful, Bohui!"

  Yan Rou was almost leaning on the horse's back, her hand holding the spear handle fiercely whipping the warhorse, which was in pain and galloping wildly. In just a few breaths, she had accelerated to the limit, yet Yan Rou still held the spear with one hand, her face as calm as ever, but her eyes narrowed slightly, revealing a hint of composure and confidence.

  Liu Bei was shocked and pale, after a moment of silence, he also shouted loudly: "Brother Bo Hu be careful ——"

  Then Mao Zong also reacted, looking at Yan Rou who was rushing past him like a fire, his mouth wide open, but no sound came out. The ring-headed knife in his hand fell down and hit his own foot, but he didn't feel any pain. After a moment, he let out a loud "Ah" and hopped around on one foot, clutching the other foot in agony.

  In the blink of an eye, Gong Sunzhan fell into a crisis.

  Yan Roufeng arrived on horseback, and from a dozen or so steps away, one could feel his bone-chilling killing intent. When Gongsun Zan heard Liu Xiu's reminder, he immediately heard the urgent sound of horseshoes, and without turning around, he knew what had happened. He kicked the horse's belly fiercely, and the white horse let out a long whinny, galloping forward with all its might, but everything was already too late. The white horse had only run a few steps when Yan Roufeng caught up to him from behind, his long spear flashing at his back heart. The urgent sound of horseshoes was like the increasingly urgent beat of war drums, pounding against his heart one beat after another.

  Gongsun Zan's face was as white as a sheet, his hands and feet were in disarray. He had only been careless for a moment, just one or two breaths, but he had fallen into an irretrievable defeat. He desperately tried to control the war horse, escaping from danger before Yan Rou struck him, while instinctively waving the iron spear in his hand, making a counterattack.

  Unfortunately, Yan Rou didn't give him the chance. With a thrust of his long spear, he sent Gongsun Zan's double-edged iron spear flying out of his hand, and then the spear shaft came crashing down towards Gongsun Zan's shoulder.

  Gongsun Zan had no choice but to take the blow, and he tumbled off his horse, rolling on the ground several times before struggling to his feet. Before he could steady himself, Yan Rou had wheeled her horse around and charged back to his side. With a swift tug on the reins, the warhorse let out a long whinny and reared up on its hind legs. Yan Rou controlled the horse with one hand while holding her long spear in the other, pointing it straight at Gongsun Zan's flushed face. The air was filled with killing intent, causing the peach blossoms on top of his head to flutter down in pieces.

  Gongsun Zan stood stiffly, clenching his fists tightly, his teeth chattering with rage, his eyes wide open and staring furiously at Yan Rou, not uttering a word.

  Yan Rou's mouth slightly raised, she recalled her long spear, urged on her war horse, and slowly left. The surging killing intent instantly dissipated into nothingness. Petals of pink peach blossoms fluttered down, falling onto Gong Sun Zhan's shoulders, falling onto the chaotic muddy ground.

  Gongsun Zan raised his face, his eyes gazing through the lush blossoms on the peach tree, his chest heaving violently.

  "Brother Bokui!" Liu Bei rushed up first, tightly grasping Gong Sunzhu's arm. Seeing Gong Sunzhu's face turn red and white, he opened his mouth to speak, but swallowed the words that had risen to his lips, swallowing a mouthful of saliva before saying: "Brother Bokui need not..."

  Gongsun Zan broke free from Liu Bei's grasp and said to Mao Zong, who was limping towards him, "It's my own incompetence." He then turned around and headed towards the temple without looking back. Liu Bei stood there for a moment, let out a long sigh, and quickly ran over to pick up his iron spear and lead his white horse in pursuit of Gongsun Zan.

  But in a short time, the situation of the battle which was originally undecided suddenly turned around and Gong Sun Zan was defeated.

  The Taohu Valley was silent, almost everyone was stunned by what had just happened, no one thought things would turn out this way. You look at me, I look at you, nobody knows what to say, even some doubt whether what they saw earlier was real.

  Yan Rou slowly walked to the front of Li Ding and others, handed over his long spear to the guard, dismounted, then bowed to Mao Qin and Lu Zhi, and sat back in silence. Li Ding was the first to react, he turned to Mao Qin, smiled silently: "Master Zhuang, that young man has good martial skills, unfortunately, he's a bit too young. Do you think we are...

  Ma Chao's mouth was bitter, he had expected that Gongsun Zan would lose, but he hadn't thought that Gongsun Zan would lose so thoroughly, and was actually chased from behind, without even having the strength to fight back. Thinking of the upcoming infantry battle, his heart was in a state of turmoil, and for a moment he didn't know how to respond to Li Ding, or whether he should continue to compete.

  Mao Liang was also stunned. She leaned against the door pillar of the curtain, staring blankly, and looked back at A Chu, who was also frowning and silent, with an incredulous look in her eyes. The two of them looked at each other for a long time, finally letting out a long sigh together, and then asked each other in unison: "What to do?"

  The two of them were stunned for a moment, and then they both said: "I don't know."

  "Keep hitting." A person next to them chimed in.

  "Ah?" Ma Qiang turned her head and looked, her face suddenly brightened up, "Wu Junhou, you finally came?"

  Wu Jun slowly walked over with a bitter smile and shook his head: "It's not me, it's the person I'm looking for."

  "Who's looking for someone?" Mao Jie suddenly remembered, she looked back at Wu Jun's body and didn't see anyone, couldn't help but say with some surprise: "Where is the person?"

  "Over there." Wu Jun pointed to Liu Xiu in the distance, seeing Mao Niang's tightly furrowed eyebrows, and hastily explained: "Gongsun Zan was defeated, not because his martial skills were bad, but because he lacked experience. The person I'm looking for may not have exceptional martial skills, but he has great strength, good eyesight, and more importantly, he is cautious in thought, with strong adaptability on the battlefield, at least an 80% chance of defeating Yan Rou."

  "Is there an 80% chance of success?" Mao Jie looked at Wu Junhou with some disbelief, and Wu Junhou forced a smile and nodded vigorously. Mao Jie glanced at Liu Xiu in the distance again, then lowered her head to think for a moment: "Or else, I'll just go myself."

  "Miss, if you still trust my judgment, don't do this. Your martial skills are not bad, but you're definitely no match for Yan Rou."

  Mao Lie was about to make a few excuses, when Ah Chu, who had been tiptoeing and looking around in the distance, suddenly exclaimed: "How come that vagabond is also here?"

  "Who?" Mo Lian's eyebrows, which had just relaxed, immediately furrowed again as she burst into a rage: "Which bastard was it? I'll go catch him and beat him half to death."